I was going to develop three rolls of film tonight but found my thermometer is kaput, all the liquid's leaked out of the correct place. Pain in the backside as it means it'll have to wait until the weekend now.

I was going to develop three rolls of film tonight but found my thermometer is kaput, all the liquid's leaked out of the correct place. Pain in the backside as it means it'll have to wait until the weekend now.

My thermometer, all the graduation lettering suddenly dissolved, I am not sure why.
Anyway I am setting up for C41 with a water bath with a reptile temp controller so maybe I won't need a thermometer for bw soon.

Your results from the Lomo are making me consider getting one! Very nice Colton.

Phil.

Haha. From what I've read, I got lucky. It seems the QC and sample variation on these are similar or worse than FSU rangefinders. Mine doesn't seem to have any real issues aside from film take-up tension and maybe a minor infinity focus problem. The focus problem is hard to tell cause it's either that, or the lens is just not sharp at all. I think it's the latter
I'm currently experimenting solving the film tension issue as well as better infinity focus with a DIY pressure which consists of 3 strategically placed strips of Scotch tape

Isn't this the wrong way around? Surely the blacks will be clear and the whites will be black?

No, the deep shadows/near black will be almost clear and the high whites should be close to DMax, but not quite there. When I am doing film testing, I usually set up a test subject that includes an exposure wedge, a swath of black velvet or velour, a white terrycloth hand towel, and a few things with interesting tonal gradations. Metering from a gray card for the exposure, I expect the velvet to have some visible texture when examined under magnification and I also expect to be able to distinguish the full exposure wedge on the negative. If I can't do both, it is time to adjust the EI and/or change development.

Texture in the terry cloth is little more difficult to determine from the negative, but a bright light source is often enough to bring it out.

No, the deep shadows/near black will be almost clear and the high whites should be close to DMax, but not quite there. When I am doing film testing, I usually set up a test subject that includes an exposure wedge, a swath of black velvet or velour, a white terrycloth hand towel, and a few things with interesting tonal gradations. Metering from a gray card for the exposure, I expect the velvet to have some visible texture when examined under magnification and I also expect to be able to distinguish the full exposure wedge on the negative. If I can't do both, it is time to adjust the EI and/or change development.

Texture in the terry cloth is little more difficult to determine from the negative, but a bright light source is often enough to bring it out.

A full range negative of the test target is the goal.

Steve

Precisely! Tuco edited his original posting to clarify what he was saying which now makes much more sense. "Blacks should be black and not have much detail on the negative" is really "Blacks on the print should be black and the negative should be close to clear". As originally posted it was a bit unclear for a beginner even if you and I knew what was meant.